Morning
by WriteMyDreams7
Summary: Kei and Sho are out too late, and have to race the sun to get home before Kei gets hurt. Pairing: Kei x Sho


**I'm still unhappy with how parts of this turned out, but I'll leave it as is.**

**As always, I own nothing but my imagination**

Sho looked up at the sky, grimacing at the sight. A few hours ago, he and Kei had left their apartment to carry out what Sho had assumed would be a simple robbery. He couldn't have been more wrong. The task had taken far too long to complete, the rewards had been minimal, and dawn was dangerously close.

"Kei," he glanced at his companion. "The sun's going to rise soon." They had about ten minutes, and Sho knew they'd never make it home in time.

"I know."

"What should we do?"

"Move faster," Kei replied shortly, looking tense as he quickened his pace.

"We won't make it. Just go on without me; I'll be fine. I'll catch up with you later." Sho knew he'd only slow Kei down. He'd be fine on his own anyway. All he'd need was Kei's gun so he could protect himself since his own was out of bullets.

"No."

"Kei!" Sho whined. "You're faster than me and you know it! I'm twenty-two; I can take care of myself!" He fell silent as Kei glared at him.

"I'm not going to leave you, Sho. We'll hide out in some abandoned building until nightfall if we have to."

Sho frowned. Kei was too stubborn for his own good, and Sho knew he couldn't just make the vampire go on ahead. He'd have to come up with a different solution. The human paused for a moment so he could remove his sweatshirt. He then stopped Kei, forcing the garment onto the petite vampire. Kei made a surprised noise and drew back, looking confused as he pushed the hood back.

"What the hell, Sho?"

If the situation hadn't been so drastic, Sho would have laughed since Kei was drowning in his sweatshirt – and looked absolutely adorable. The sleeves hung down to his knees, and he looked like a child playing dress up in his father's closet. "I'm trying to protect you from the sun. I know this won't do much, but anything is better than nothing. Make sure you keep the hood up so you can protect your head a bit more." He tugged the hood back over Kei's head, pulling it down as low as he could before glancing up at the sky again. He'd wasted precious seconds getting Kei protected, and time was running out. The human made a split decision as he watched the lightening sky. If Kei wouldn't go on alone, then Sho would have to come up with a different way to bring them home in time. He reached down and swept Kei off his feet, holding the petite vampire against his chest before sprinting down the street.

"Sho!" Kei clutched his neck in shock. "Put me down!" He struggled in Sho's arms since he _hated _being carried. It made him feel small and weak, things he hated to feel.

Sho adjusted his grip on the squirming vampire. "Stop it, Kei! We'll never make it in time if we walk, and you're too damn stubborn to leave me behind. I refuse to lose you, so this is the only way." Sho carried his most precious person in his arms, and he knew life wouldn't be worth living if he didn't have Kei in it. Kei was his everything, and he wasn't going to risk losing him.

The vampire still looked mutinous, but stopped struggling and held onto Sho instead. "Hurry."

Sho nodded, and nothing more was said between them since Sho needed to save his breath. He glanced up at the lightening sky, biting back a curse. Thankfully they'd been close to home when he'd realized their predicament, and they were only a few streets away from their neighborhood. If he was fast enough, he might make it in time to save Kei.

Panting, Sho shot another glance at the sky. The orange rim of the sun was rising above the horizon, and Sho tried to bend his upper body over Kei to offer him more protection. The sun was at his back, so as long as Kei kept his face hidden most of him should be protected… except for the lower portion of his legs.

The human flinched in sympathy as Kei tensed in his arms. The vampire hissed in pain as he pressed his hooded face against Sho's shoulder, small fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. Sho wished he could comfort him, wished he could save him from the pain, but all he could do was press Kei closer and keep running.

Sho ignored the stitch in his side and the burning sensation in his leg muscles as he pushed himself to go even faster. He had to save Kei. Sho winced and held Kei closer as the vampire let out a pained whimper. Kei, normally so strong, always hid his pain but he was helpless against the sun. Sho glanced down at his precious burden, flinching as he caught the scent of burning flesh. Smoke was starting to rise from Kei's calves. Sho's body hid Kei from the sun's piercing rays, but that feeble cover wouldn't last much longer. Already, Sho's shadow was stretching out in front of him.

"Almost there," the human panted. They'd finally reached their street. Sho put on one final burst of speed as he saw the door of their small house. He caught the toe of his shoe on the porch step and pitched forward, slamming both of them into the door as he tried not to fall over. Kei caught most of the impact and hissed again. Sho dropped the arm supporting Kei's knees and fumbled for his keys, trying to hold Kei and unlock the door at the same time. Finally, he got the door open and dashed inside. Sho slammed the door behind him and collapsed against it in exhaustion. Sho gasped for breath, wheezing a little as his lungs sucked in oxygen. Kei lay motionless in his arms, letting Sho recover his breath. Once the human's breathing had returned to a normal rate, he stepped away from the door and carried Kei into the vampire's bedroom.

"I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough," Sho said sadly. He tenderly lowered Kei onto his futon and crouched in front of him before untying his shoes.

"It's not your fault." Kei gritted his teeth against the pain, clenching his hands into fists.

"Yes it is! If I hadn't been there, you could have run ahead. You'd have reached home long before the sun rose, and you would have been fine. But I was there… I held you back, and it's my fault you're in this condition." Sho carefully removed Kei's shoes and socks, tears welling up in his eyes as he studied Kei's burnt feet. This was his fault. Kei wouldn't have had to suffer this pain if it weren't for him.

"Stop crying for me, Sho. And don't blame yourself… I'll be fine after I rest." Sho raised his head as he felt Kei's small hand tousle his hair.

"Still." Sniffing, the human wiped his eyes and stood. "You need bandages."

Kei frowned. "Why? My legs will be back to normal soon enough. There's no point in wasting bandages on me."

"But they're injured _now _so you need bandages." Ignoring Kei's protests, Sho went to the bathroom. He came back with a roll of gauze. He knelt in front of Kei again and started to roll up his pant leg, but the vampire swatted his hand away.

"Don't bother, Sho. You cried just by seeing my feet. You don't want to see my legs." He turned away from Sho, pain flashing across his face as the movement aggravated his injuries.

Gently, Sho spun him around so that they were facing each other once more. "No, Kei. I _have _to take care of you." He pushed Kei's baggy pants up to his thighs, flinching at the sight of Kei's charred flesh. The burns extended up to his knees, and Sho wished for the thousandth time that Kei had simply left him so he could save himself.

"Stop crying for me." Sho jumped as he felt Kei reach out and brush away the moisture on his cheeks, tears Sho hadn't even know he'd shed.

"I'm not crying!" The human lied, wiping away his tears. He never liked admitting he'd been crying, no matter how obvious it was.

"There's no point in denying it."

Sho grumbled something in response and picked up the gauze. He gently grasped Kei's left leg to hold it steady as he started to wind the bandage around Kei's injured foot, ignoring his protests.

"Sho, stop it. You're wasting the bandages," Kei griped, swatting his hand away.

"Kei! Stop fighting me. I know you'll be fine later, but you're hurt _now _and I don't want you to go around with burned legs until you're healed! So please, just let me take care of you."

Kei frowned, but reluctantly consented. "Fine."

Sho resumed his task, and the vampire stayed quiet throughout the bandaging process except for the occasional hiss of pain. Sho tried to be as gentle as he could so he wouldn't hurt Kei even more, but there was little he could do to prevent further suffering for Kei since placing the slightest amount of pressure on his burned legs hurt him.

"There," Sho said quietly, drawing back after he'd taped down the gauze. Kei's lower legs were securely wrapped in bandages, hiding the dreadful burns from view. The vampire fixed his pants and lay down, carefully shifting his legs so he could get into a more comfortable position.

"Get some rest, Sho," he murmured.

"I will soon," Sho said, climbing onto the bed. Kei was asleep in a matter of moments, and Sho lay down next to him. He buried his face in the vampire's golden hair as his arms wrapped around Kei's petite frame, hugging him close to reassure himself that Kei was here. If the sun had taken Kei, it would have been because of Sho. He would have been responsible for killing Kei, and Sho would never be able to forgive himself.

The human felt tears welling up in his eyes again at the thought of having to go through life without Kei. The vampire had walked into his life when Sho was a child, and he'd become such a huge part of Sho's life that the thought of him not being there scared him. What would he do without Kei?

"Don't leave me," Sho whispered, pressing Kei even closer.

Kei didn't respond, and Sho breathed in his scent to bring himself back to reality. Kei was still here. He was injured, but he was here. Sho still had his most precious person, and Kei lay in his arms – where he belonged.


End file.
